


then i'll take your hand

by lutzaussi



Series: where are you going? [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Explicit Love Confessions, Gen, House Cleaning, Love, M/M, Moving On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-01 23:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12714864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutzaussi/pseuds/lutzaussi
Summary: Iruka goes home.





	then i'll take your hand

Iruka stomped the snow off his shoes before stepping into the house, holding his hands to his face so they would catch some heat from his breath and warm up. It was damned cold, but that was to be expected in February; it was at least a blessing that the snow had stopped falling at a mere two feet instead of piling up further.

He closed and locked the door behind him, didn’t bother flicking on any of the light switches because the electricity was disconnected. Instead there was an oil lamp waiting on the tiled floor of the entrance, which he lit before unlacing his boots.

The thick wool of his socks prevented any sound as he walked into the house, checking each room he went past. The furniture that remained had white dust-cloths dropped over it; in addition, most of the furniture had been moved into the living room, so it seemed as though the room was infested by ghosts. He did walk through it, if only to make sure that there were no tell-tale signs of mice or other small rodents. He’d found some in the kitchen and didn’t want them to spread to the rest of the house.

Sure that there were no mice in the living room, he did a sweep of the kitchen and the study, devoid of its books and desk. Satisfied with what he saw, Iruka headed up the stairs.

-

It had been a long process to get to that point. Sumire was easy to convince; her arthritis was beginning to get worse, and she was amiable to the idea of living close to a village for the convenience. And not having to make every meal, that was definitely a factor.

They had enough money to move, and once lambing and kidding season was over they could sell some of the livestock, if not their entire mixed flock; they had agreed at least half needed to go. Sumire left the final decision to Iruka, but he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to make a decision on that. In the meantime, Iruka was alternating between visiting Konoha and staying at their house, in the woods.

His time in Konoha was initially spent convincing the Hokage and his council that he was Umino Iruka, he was alive and not being impersonated by anyone.

Surprisingly, or rather not, it was difficult to convince them of that. Iruka was almost ready to give up and continue living with Sumire in their house, when Kakashi had heard about it and done something to convince the Konoha elders that Iruka was, indeed, Iruka. Iruka hoped it didn’t include threats. It had likely been threats.

When they had been convinced, though, everything had proceeded smoothly. He’d been given the deed to his parents’ house, access to the money he and his parents had left behind, full citizenship as a Konoha citizen. After that it had been relatively easy to get papers for Sumire.

So he traveled from the house to his former home, cleaning it up and putting the things he had left behind in order.

-

The wall was already devoid of pictures in his parents’ old room. The paint on it was faded around where they had been, a reminder of the years that he had left everything there. Iruka stared at it for a few moments, before turning to the closet. Everything was already packed up; the things that he wanted to keep were down with the furniture in the living room, but the things that were to be given away--old clothes, mostly--were still stacked in the closet.

He’d cleaned out the end tables, under the bed, everywhere there could have been possessions. Iruka did intend to go through the rooms again, once they were all empty. Just in case.

After taking the filled boxes of clothing out to the front porch, Iruka returned to the bedroom, pulled the mattress off the bed frame. He still wasn’t sure if he would sell the house, once it was cleaned out, but even if he stayed he couldn’t imagine sleeping on the same bed his parents had.

He rested the mattress against the wall, went into his old room to do the same. That room had been a quick clean; he’d never had very many possessions, and those that had remained in the house were not ones he was attached to. He had pictures--more pictures, now--and some of his parents’ possessions. That was all he really needed.

Iruka moved the last couple boxes out of his old room and down onto the porch, lacing his boots back on so he could wait outside.. Despite how the house was unheated, it was at least closed up and had the benefit of soaking in the sun; going outside was like entering another world made up of ice and cold. He shivered. Kakashi was supposed to be stopping by to pick up the boxes with the Tenzou that he had mentioned before. Iruka was interested to meet Tenzou. Kakashi spoke very highly of him, just as he did Gai. Iruka did like Gai, despite how intense the man could be--he’d insisted on taking him out to dinner the last time Iruka was in town. It had been enjoyable. Kakashi had come out of it immensely embarrassed.

And Kakashi--well, speak of the devil and he would appear. Iruka shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and buried his face into his high collar. Kakashi had a strange tendency to appear whenever Iruka thought about him; sometimes they would intercept each other as Kakashi was heading out on a mission and Iruka was traveling to Konoha or the reverse, sometimes it would be at the house in the woods, where Sumire would chuckle and disappear for an hour, and sometimes--though it was the rarest--Kakashi would let himself into the former Umino house while Iruka was cleaning and going through the rooms.

And, really, speak of the devil. Kakashi turned onto the street the house sat on, another man with a mess of brown hair following him.

-

Tenzou was as nice, if not nicer than, Gai. Iruka supposed that was partly because of the history shared between the three of them that Gai wasn’t privy to, but most of it just seemed to be Tenzou.

The water was still hooked up in the house, so Iruka dragged out a kettle to make all of them tea while they waited for take-out that was apparently being delivered to the house. He had a burner plate that ran on cans of gas for whenever he visited, because despite Kakashi trying to get him to stay at his apartment or at least get a room at an inn, it was easiest and most cost effective for him to stay in the abandoned house.

Did it even qualify as abandoned, anymore?

Tenzou interrupted his thoughts, moving through the rooms with the same stealthy ease that Kakashi had. “Are you going to be selling this place? There’s some beautiful woodwork in here,” the man said. Good god, Sumire would love him.

“Haven’t decided,” Iruka said, looking around the room as Tenzou did the same. He was right, the house was beautifully made, despite modern updates. Already he was beginning to consider what it might cost to redo the first floor with tatami, get new beds, and deep clean the bathroom and kitchen. “I would prefer it to be one floor,” he admitted, pouring out water to let the tea steep. Tenzou nodded in an almost wise manner. “I don’t know.”

“Well,” Tenzou said, and a look that was somewhat longsuffering came over Kakashi’s face even as Tenzou lit up, “if you do want help with the house, I would be glad to. Architecture is something of a passion of mine.”

“Yeah, a passion,” Kakashi scoffed, but his tone was fond.

Tenzou stuck his nose up at the other man. “Well, not all of us have the best taste in hobbies.”

-

Iruka mulled over Tenzou’s offer three days later as he made the final leg of the trip back to the house in the woods. His initial thoughts, when he had first been considering everything while coming back from the Land of Waves, had been to sell it. The thought of living in the house that contained most of his childhood memories was difficult to process.

But processing was most of what he’d been doing, ever since he started cleaning the house out. Iruka exhaled deeply as he came into view of the house. Sumire had a fire going, and when he entered she was deep in the midst of haggling with someone he didn’t recognize over the cost of four of their sheep.

He left her to that, with only a gesture for her to raise the price as he slipped out the back. One of ewes that would lamb in the spring was already given to their neighbors, and one other, the only ram they had left after butchering their other one the year before, would be going with her.

He looked over all of the sheep before moving onto the goats. Maybe they would keep a couple of the goats--they were useful for the garden. Just one or two, though, otherwise they would have no garden. Iruka carefully considered the goats for several minutes, before choosing one doe who would kid much later in the spring. Two would be perfect, and would still give them a good amount of wool.

Iruka marked the doe by tying a rag loosely around her neck before heading back out of the barn. 

He was intercepted by, as always, Kakashi. The man was completely kitted out for a mission and didn’t have any wounds, so Iruka guessed he was on his way out from Konoha.

“Care to sit awhile?” Kakashi said, tipping his head toward the back porch of the house.

“It’s cold,” Iruka half-whined, but he followed Kakashi to the porch. The other man sighed in a mock-annoyed manner, tugged Iruka to sit under the fur-lined poncho he was wearing. Their thighs were pressed together and Iruka found himself leaning in to Kakashi for more than warmth.

“Heading out?” Iruka asked.

“Mm,” Kakashi affirmed. “Land of Water. Supposed to be a week.”

Iruka let his head rest on Kakashi’s shoulder. They still hadn’t talked about...this. Whatever it was. So he figured he might as well clear the air.

“You know,” he said, voice quiet, “I love you.”

Kakashi tensed, but only for a second. Iruka could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, “I love you, too.”

Iruka was glad that it happened like that, not in the heat of reconciliation or anything else.

And when they first kissed, at the edge of the garden before Kakashi headed off, he was still smiling.

-

Less than a week later, furiously missing Kakashi, Iruka was standing with Tenzou in front of what had been his parents’ house and what was now his house. The man performed a complex set of hand signs before setting both of his palms against the ground in front of the house.

The ground itself shifted, moving around so space cleared in the back and sides of the house. Iruka watched in wonder as thick, dark support columns shot out of the ground, walls formed between them and a sturdy floor took shape. The top floor collapsed as if it was being cannibalized by the rest of the house, and within minutes the new form of the house took shape.

It was one floor, as they had agreed, with a traditional porch sprawling the entire perimeter. The walls were a mix of solid and screens, the large windows of the original house gently settled on the ground in front of the house. “I tried to keep the center of the house the same,” Tenzou said, wiping his forehead. “We should probably walk through it, though, to make sure it’s sound.”

Iruka nodded, and let Tenzou lead him into the house.

The entryway was the same, only widened a little. That carried through for all the halls, giving the entire building a wonderful sense of being open despite being closed in. The living room was larger, the fireplace removed and a sunken square for a kotatsu added. The kitchen and bathroom were the same, but shifted further to the back of the house. The office, which had been a rather small room across from the living room, was much larger, built-in bookshelves coming out of the walls. Three rooms were added, two the perfect size for bedrooms with closets in the walls, and the third merely an extra room.

Then they went out the back, and Tenzou pointed out where he’d moved the existing trees back to make room for the garden and a couple goats or sheep. The shed that had existed since before Iruka’s family had lived there looked fresh and new, and Iruka had to take a moment.

“If there is any way I can repay you for doing this for me--us--please tell me,” he said.

Tenzou laughed a little, in a pleasantly surprised way. “You don’t need to repay me. If anything, I should be thanking you. Somehow, Kakashi-senpai doesn’t come back from missions horribly injured anymore. And he actually socializes when we go to the bar. That’s all thanks to you.”

Iruka turned a little pink, and stammered out another thanks.

-

The move to Konoha was somewhat arduous, but they persisted through it. By the time they did get all of their things and the remaining animals moved, there was new tatami throughout the house and the bathroom and kitchen gleamed as if they were new as well.

Iruka was exhausted for a solid three days after. He’d done most of the heavy lifting, and he’d also had to buy new futons and get all of the utilities working again.

Despite that, Kakashi appeared at the front door on the third day. It was the evening, so Iruka assumed he would be wanting dinner, but instead he told Iruka to put shoes and a coat on, because they were going out.

Iruka went along with it, slightly amused the whole while. It looked like Kakashi didn’t particularly want to go out, and Iruka guessed that Kakashi had probably been talked into it. They walked quietly, and Iruka took the chance to grab Kakashi’s hand while they were still alone on the street.

“Thank you,” he said. Kakashi looked sidelong at him. “You’ve done a lot for me. For Sumire and me.”

“It was nothing,” Kakashi said. He almost sounded pained, and Iruka wasn’t particularly sure if he wanted to dig into why that was. “It was the least I could do,” he restated after a pause, and with more conviction. After a longer hesitation he added, “You are both important to me.”

Heat flushed Iruka’s face, and he was glad he could blame it on the cold if need be.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to bother replying, because the bar that Kakashi had mentioned came into view, and outside of it a group of men and women chorused, “Kakashi!” upon seeing them.

“Finally!” a woman with purple hair said, overdramatic as she threw her hands up in the air, “I can drink. Come on, booze waits for no one.”

They filed inside, and once they were all clustered around a table in the back of the mostly-full bar introductions were made.

“Gai, you know Gai,” Kakashi pointed to each person as he introduced them, “That’s Kurenai and Asuma, Genma, Raidou, Hayate and Yugao, Anko,” the woman with purple hair raised her head from the beer she was slurping down, wiggled around Kakashi so she could give Iruka a hefty slap on the back.

“Welcome to Konoha!” she yelled, and several of the others were well enough in their cups that they took up the yell as well.

Iruka wanted to disappear into nothingness. While he was by no means socially awkward--somewhat of a miracle given his stilted upbringing--having a half dozen shinobi cheering for him was freaky. But also kind of nice.

“Iruka, right?” Kurenai asked. She wasn’t drinking, but amusedly watching one of the men--Asuma--knock back shots.

He nodded.

“Glad you’re here,” she held out a hand, and he shook it. “Also glad you’re somehow taming Kakashi, here. He was a nuisance before he met you.”

“I was not,” Kakashi protested. Kurenai rolled her eyes, and before Iruka even realized it everyone at their table and some not at their table were regaling him with tales about Kakashi’s past.

By the time they left to head back to the house, Iruka was pleasantly buzzed and Kakashi looked like he hadn’t drunk anything despite taking at least five shots.

“I’m never going out again,” Kakashi muttered, slinging an arm across Iruka’s shoulders.

“That was fun,” Iruka said, winding his own arm around Kakashi’s waist.

“Because of all the dirt you know about me now?” Kakashi asked, but he pressed a kiss to the side of Iruka’s head, regardless of Iruka’s answer of “Yes.”

-

They were finally completely unpacked. It had taken some time, especially since they were selling the livestock and planting the garden before spring got too hot, but it was done and Iruka could store the last of the boxes that had previously held their belongings.

Accordingly, and ostensibly in celebration, they went out for ramen that night. Sumire then went out to hit up the bars, because, in her own words, “I’m old, not dead, and sake is one thing I have missed living in the middle of nowhere.”

Iruka left her to that, but he headed home. There were still a couple things that needed to be organized, and he wanted to be finished at least for a little while with cleaning things.

He was in the middle of organizing the dishes in the kitchen cupboards when something landed on the roof of the house. Immediately he thought it was Kakashi, but when whoever it was pushed off and landed in the backyard before heading into the trees.

Iruka was no shinobi, but he was pretty damned fast from years of preventing errant sheep and goats from falling off cliffs, so he pursued.

The kid, because it turned out to be a kid, was slow and dressed almost completely in the most eye-burning shade of orange that Iruka had ever seen. He had paused just a little way into the woods and was sitting on the ground, opening a massive scroll that looked very important and had a stamp on the end that said “forbidden.”

Iruka wasn’t the type to police unknown children, but he knew when he was witnessing a bad situation, so with the best stealth skills he could muster, he circled around so he was behind the kid, and grabbed him and the scroll, one in each hand.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, and the kid actually looked a little frightened before dropping into a sulk.

“None of your business, mister,” he said, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out when Iruka held him up to eye level.

-

By the time someone else appeared at the house, Iruka had gotten more information out of the kid. Apparently, his name was Naruto, and he had the scroll because his teacher, some jerk named Mizuki, told him that he needed to or else he would fail an exam at the Academy. Iruka thought that was probably bullshit, which he didn’t say to the kid.

“Hey, Iruka, have you happened to--” whatever Kakashi was planning to say was instead replaced by “--what the hell.” when he saw Naruto stuck with a seal (Iruka was still handy with those, he was proud of that) to a chair from the kitchen.

Iruka looked up from glaring at Naruto. Kakashi looked a mixture of confused and proud, as he glanced between Naruto and Iruka. “Did he have a scroll?” he asked.

Iruka gestured to the scroll, which he had set on the kitchen table.

“Sensei, you are a miracle and a blessing,” Kakashi said, hopping over to the table and sealing the scroll into a paper he was holding. It was Iruka’s turn to look confused. “The Hokage sent out nearly a squadron of shinobi to find him,” Kakashi pointed at Naruto, who stuck his tongue out at him, “and the scroll. Should get him back to the Tower.”

“Please stop calling me sensei,” Iruka said in a long suffering tone, pulling the seal off Naruto and grabbing the boy before he could make an escape.

“Well, you would be a good teacher,” Kakashi said, somewhat nonchalantly. Iruka wanted to glare at him, but couldn’t muster up enough seriousness to follow through.

“Do you really think I would want to work at a school that churns out shinobi?” he asked. He felt tired, and he kept his hand fisted in the boy’s--Naruto’s--orange jacket.

“I didn’t say what kind of teacher,” Kakashi shrugged, gently pried Naruto loose from Iruka’s grip. He didn’t let the boy go, though. “You know, we could probably do with a normal school in this village. The children who don’t want to become shinobi don’t really have any options.”

Iruka sighed, long-suffering. A small smile flitted onto his face at the thought that Kakashi really did work hard to get to know him. “I’ll consider it,” he said. “But first, we should probably take this one to the Hokage.”

Naruto looked annoyed, but only really started yelling when Kakashi slung him over one arm. That done, they headed toward the Tower.


End file.
